North Jersey Coed
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North Jersey Coed Softball Rules

 

Umpires

  1. Umpires - Umpires will be at every game. In the event an umpire cannot make it or does not show - you have the option of rescheduling that game or calling the game yourself. There will be NO arguing or threatening the umpires. Let them make the calls without interjecting. First incident during a game is a warning, second incident will result in being ejected from the game. If you are removed from a game a second time during the season, you will be removed from the league for the remainder of the season. If there is an issue with an umpire that a team feels is not fair, contact the league admin immediately during that game. Umpires will also establish the 50' mark prior to the start of the game and make the call in regard to the "no creep rule” below. They will also be in charge of checking the league/personal bats prior to the start of the game and be present when both captains are agreeing to which bats may be used. They will also go over any ground rules.

General

  1.  Age - All players must be a minimum of 18 years of age by the first game of the season to be eligible for play.
  2. Game Times - 6:00pm game time with a 15-minute grace period. At least eight players must be on the field ready to play by 6:15pm.
  3. Fielding a team - Your starting lineup must consist of AT LEAST nine players however you may begin the game with eight players to start. An out will be taken at the end of your lineup until the ninth player shows up. Additional players arriving past your initial lineup may be added to your batting order up until the end of the third inning. After that, you MAY NOT add any additional players to the end of your lineup. You may however substitute them in your lineup after the third inning for another player (female for female, male for male).
  4. Females - A minimum of two females must be on the field and batting at all times. If you do not have two females, an out will be taken at the end of the batting order and only nine players can be on the field (at least one must be female), unless both teams agree prior to the start of the game. A female must pinch hit for a female, male for male.
  5. Subs - In the event a team does not have enough players to field a team, they may borrow players from another team to bring them to the minimum number that they need in order to play a game (8 males 2 females). For example, if a team only has 7 men and 2 women, they may borrow from another team to get an 8th male to bring the lineup to 10. They may not sub more players than needed, this is soley to avoid a forefeit. The same goes if they already have 12 men but 1 woman - they can only bring one additional woman in. 
  6. Sportsmanship - Any derogatory, inappropriate, or offensive language directed at a player on another team is prohibited. Any player in question will be ejected by both team captains. Any player who is obnoxiously intoxicated/slurring their words will be ejected from the game and be removed from the team indefinitely. Multiple incidents for the same team throughout a single season (two) will result in that team being removed from the league - please hold your teammates accountable.
  7. Bats - If a man steps in the batter’s box with a bat that is not supplied by the league OR an agreed upon bat AND the ball leaves the pitchers hand - it is an automatic OUT, regardless of if they swung or not. 
  8. No Contact - You must avoid contact at all bases. That does not necessarily mean you have to slide, but you must avoid contact with the field player. You cannot plow through someone. Anyone who runs into another player purposely without trying to avoid contact will be ejected! The goal here is for no one to get hurt!
  9. Safety Base - The safety base is placed in foul territory and if a batted ball hits the base, it is foul. Players must utilize the safety base to avoid contact at first if running through the base.
  10. Mercy Rule – A twenty run rule will be enforced at the end of the fourth inning. A fifteen-run rule will be enforced after five. You may continue playing for fun if agreed upon by both teams however the score will stop at a 15-run lead.
  11. Courtesy runners - May be used only for those who physically cannot run. The courtesy runner must be the last batted out in the lineup. A female must run for a female and a male for a male, unless agreed upon and discussed prior to the game.
  12. No Creep Rule - When a female is batting, outfielders are not allowed to creep in less than 50 feet from the bases. Prior to the game, coaches should discuss what 50 feet is either by walking it off or measuring. Coaches are responsible to let fielders know where the 50’ line is prior to the game. Teams may not use a short fielder when females are batting. The use of a short fielder will result in a base hit for the female at bat, regardless of if she swings or not.
  13. Submitting Scores – Both teams are responsible for reporting scores via the TeamLinkt App. Scores should be submitted the day of the game - It takes one minute to complete so please try to do so at the conclusion of your game. You will also have to take a picture of your scorebook pages and upload it to the app. We are trying to streamline/automate this scorekeeping process, so it is as hands off as possible so please be sure to follow the rules. Instructions on how to submit scores/picture will be given out. We will reach out to you if we see that uploads are missing. 
  14. Forfeits - Each team may only miss a total of two games to be eligible for tournament play. Forfeits count as a win for the opposing team and each player on that team gets counted for that game, excluding the players on the team that is forfeiting. If a team forfeits three games in a single season, they will be removed from playoff contention. Any forfeit results in a 7-0 in the books in favor of the team who did not forfeit.
  15.  Rained Out Games – There is no deadline on when to make games up. You will have to contact us to reach out to umps for their availability and scheduling. Please however try to do this in a timely manner so that you are not piling up games towards the end of the season.
  16. Rescheduled Games - If a team reschedules a game and it is postponed more than two times for any reason and the 3rd makeup game is not played (other than a rain out), the team who caused the original delay will forfeit.

Game Rules

  1. Pitching - The pitch count will start out at 1-1. The pitch style is Slow-Arc, High-Pitch. A 6' to 12’ height must be maintained. The balls arc must be over the batter’s head as a general rule of thumb to be legal. Balls and strikes will be called by the umpires. A strike is considered a pitch that hits the plate, the strike mat, or a foul ball. A foul ball on the 3rd strike is NOT an out. In the event that pitches are consistently illegal, the batting team may object to the call of a strike if the player has not swung. Any pitch that is bowled/rolled to the plate will result in an automatic balk advancing any runners on base to the next base.
  2. Bunting - Bunting or stealing is not allowed.
  3. Foul Tip - Any contact off the bat followed by a catch from the catcher is considered an out, except if the ball were to first hit the cage. In the event that happens, it is just a strike. 
  4. Infield Fly Rule - When runners are on base in a "force out" position with less than two outs, any infield pop-up results in an automatic out even if the ball is dropped. This is done to prevent someone from purposely dropping the ball to force an easy double play.
  5. Intentional Walking – Any intentional walk will not result in anything other than a walk. Walking a male to get to a female is considered a walk. No extra bases are awarded.
  6. Overthrow - On a ball thrown out of play, all runners may advance two bases from their positions (last touched base) from when the throw goes out of play if thrown from the outfield. For overthrows from the infield, the same concept applies EXCEPT the runner is only awarded one base from the last base touched. 

Playoffs

 

  1. Eligibility – In order to qualify for playoffs, all players both male and female must make one less than half (seven) of the scheduled regular season games.
  2. Playoff Tiebreakers for seeding - 1st Tiebreaker is head-to-head, 2nd Tie breaker is who has less Runs Against as a team, and 3rd Tiebreaker is who has the most Runs For as a team.
  3. Injuries - If a person were to get surgery or have a broken bone during or before the regular season, the manager of his/her team must be notified immediately. Once the team manager is notified, they must then let the league admin know immediately. Once the league admin gets the doctor’s note from that player stating he/she is cleared and able to play, they may return. If there are not enough games remaining to bring this player to seven total games played, they must at least make half of the remaining games from the time they come back to the end of regular season play in order to be eligible for playoffs.

Equipment

  1. Scorebook - Both teams must maintain a neat scorebook. At the conclusion of each game, each team must sign the other team’s book for verification. Be sure to date the book and identify each team name. Pictures of scorebooks & scores must be uploaded to the TeamLinkt app at the end of each game. If you failed to upload your scorebook and a player’s eligibility is in question, they will be ineligible for playoffs. At the conclusion of each week, all player availability & scores will be entered into a spreadsheet with their attendance for that week’s game. All names must be consistent between scorebooks/TeamLinkt app or they will not be counted. We will not be retroactively checking any scorebooks at the end of the season as this process is now going to be carried out weekly.
  2. Bags - Home team will pick up a duffle bag which will contain bats, a strike mat and ALL bases (including safety base) for games. Duffle bags are located at Branchville field in a lockbox and at The Greeks bar. The away team will not have to supply anything.
  3. Bats - Two league bats should be present during each game however each team has the option to also provide two personal bats of their own to use for the game for a maximum total of six bats. Any ASA/USA bats may be used. Women are allowed to use any bat they choose. Please note that both teams will be allowed to use your personal bats so in the event any personal bats are damaged, the leauge is not responsible for replacing it. 
  4. Balls - League provided Champro Slow Pitch Softballs must be used for all games. They are a restricted flight ball (300 compression, .52 COR) and are the same specs as the Trump/SB12 balls we have used in the past.
  5. Strike Mat - Each team must use a league provided strike mat (plate extension) during each game. The home team is expected to provide this. 
  6. Damage to League Equipment: If a player INTENTIONALLY breaks or dents a league bat, that player must pay for a new replacement. If they fail to do so, the cost falls onto the team must pay for a new one. If the bat is ACCIDENTALLY broken or dented during play, please let the league know immediately.